Enter the Cocytus
To see the arc's title page: Set Out! Enter the Cocytus The ring shook as a man heavily fell to the ground. Groaning, he grabbed the ropes and pulled himself up, his left shoulder leaning a bit to the side. Heavily panting, he tried to stand up but immediately collapsed onto the floor. Standing above him, a young adult yawned and stretched his arms before calling out "Next!" However, just like the past 6 years and 11 months, nobody dared to take a step forward. Heavily leaning on a walking stick, an old man wobbled forward and said "Silas, I think that'll be enough for today, why don't you take a little rest? Perhaps go outside and oversee the knight's training?” Silas pouted. Ever since he had mercilessly beaten down the FRFH's best combat fighters, nobody in Pilse Navarina had dared to challenge him. Sighing, he climbed out of the ring and walked out of the gym...not before somebody called out "And while you're out it, try asking Mithra out on a date!" A wolf whistle and laughter soon followed after, trailing behind a now blushing Silas. Unlike how it usually was when Silas stepped outside, the sun was high in the sky, not low and bordering the waters. There were far more people than he would have like, and a bit too many girls that were staring and whispering in his general direction. The sun glinted off of his brown hair as he walked across the bridge. Mithra had once called this the Lazuli Crossings. A series of bridges and arcs that spanned across the whole citadel, connecting and at the same time separating every single District. Scratching his head, Silas absent mindedly kicked a pebble, watching it skip across the dirt. He wasn't used to this...this...quietness. The past few years had been spent fighting and training... and now that he had achieved his limits and the limits of his instructors, there really wasn't anything to do. Sure there was the occasional mission but even that had gotten boring. "-as!" Silas' thoughts were interrupted by somebody shouting. "Silas!" Turning around, he saw Mithra jogging towards him. The sight of her never failed to amaze him. "The Blind Beauty" was what he mentally called her. Hair that had once been brown but now dyed a light blue, eyes wrapped in a black band, a blue hoodie, white shirt and black jeans, her appearance never ceased to take his breath away. "Oi Silas! You listenin' to me?" Startled, he came back to reality before Mithra could punch him. Rubbing his eyes, SIlas said "Sorry, just a bit tired. What's up?" "Umm...well uhh....Mirone was wondering..." For an unknown reason Silas suddenly became really disappointed. "Mirone was wondering if you're going to join the Navarina Tournament" "Tournament?" Mithra, despite being blind, still managed to pull of a bewildered expression. "Wait wait wait wait... wait...wait...you don't know about the Tourney?" "Nope" "Silas...you're a retard..." Sighing, Silas started walking back to the FRFH HQ. Mithra soon trailed behind him, starting her explanation; oblivious to Silas' exhaustion "The Navarina Tournament is an event held once every 3 years. It's a gathering of all the district aces and then they have a tournament to see who's the strongest" "And what happens to the strongest?" "Well I have no idea". Silas turned around her and looked at her oddly. "Every time it changes. Last time it was that the district gained approval of something, the one before that Mirone requested a match and then he won the Urvan" "Oh yeah...I remember something like that..." "Well yeah. Anyways, Mirone was wondering if you wanted to be the FRFH's ace?" The sun was starting to set, taking away the light along with it. Breathing out a fog, Silas replied "Yeah...sure...how long does the tournament go on for?" Putting a finger to her chin, Mithra pouted for a while. After a moment, she said "Normally they go on for about 2 or 3 days because the fights usually last a really long time" Shoving his hands into his pockets, Silas barked a laugh and then looked over his shoulder. The sight of Mithra calmed him. He only hoped that she would be somewhere in the crowd, preferably the front row "You better tell Mirone that he best get his axe ready. When I win, I'm challenging him" Loud laughter broke through the silence. It was however, quickly replaced by a smack and a ssshhhhhhhh'. ''Taking a sip from the bottle of alcohol he had in his hand, Mirone gave a goofy grin and slurred out "So the kid...he says?" Rubbing her forehead and curling her blanket closer around herself, Mithra sighed and repeated "Silas said that he's gonna win and when he does, he's going to try and get Urvan from you". Once again, Mirone fell out of his chair and started breaking into fits of laughter. She knew taking Mirone's offer for a drink was a bad idea. She already had one hell of a head-ache, what's it going to be like tomorrow morning? Giving out a cute little yawn, Mithra rubbed her neck and then stood up. A bit irritated, she started walking to her room. Confused at her sudden anger, Mirone stopped laughing and asked "Hey hey hey... what's up?" "You know...I bet you won't be laughing your ass off when Silas wins this tournament" At this remark, Mirone smirked and then took a gulp from his bottle. Wiping his mouth, he let out "If he can hit anybody" before once again breaking into fits of laughter. Rolling her eyes, Mithra walked to her room, dragging her blanket behind her and mentally saying "Just you wait Mirone...Silas will surpass you" Tournament Day Fanfare erupted through the air. The banners of each respective District spread across the arena's walls, perhaps by the use of several wires. However, unlike the 8 districts, only 6 banners were present. Nervously shuffling his feet, Silas looked around him. Noticing his discomfort, Mithra asked "Silas you alright?" "Sure just uh...nervous I guess. I haven't seen these guys before" Mithra chuckled before leading Silas into the middle of the arena. Now in full view of his future opponents, Mithra answered "Most of these guys have been away on missions. Believe me, they're really strong. But you should be able to handle them" While Mithra walked out of the arena, Silas looked at it in whole. It resembled the Colosseum the Remulous district had. An area in the middle that was made of dirt and one or two trees, it was surrounded by stands that held countless seats, enough to hold perhaps half of Pilse Navarina. The walls rose up so that the pit that they would be fighting in would be at the lowest point. Cheering suddenly erupted, surprising Silas. Looking behind him, he saw a blue haired male in a red cape with blue armour waving at the crowd. By his side was a yellow blade with a red hilt. Raising an eyebrow, Silas leaned over to a person wearing a light purple robe. "Hey...who's that guy?" Stretching his arm, the man replied "That guy? He's the ace from Remulous...by the way, I should be asking, who are '''you?" "Me? I'm Silas, from FRFH...who are you?" "Ah, I'm Sauta, from Kusamura" Silas nodded. Once again looking at the Remulous ace, he tilted his head. Before he could ask Sauta another question, the fanfare erupted once more. Bewildered, Silas looked around before a voice boomed out "WELCOME SPECTATORS AND ACES OF PILSE NAVARINA". Even the aces beside of him covered their ears at the sheer volume of the voice. "TODAY WILL MARK THE DAY OF THE MOST EXPECTED EVENTS IN OUR LIVES: THE NAVARINA TOURNAMENTS. LIKE ALL OTHER TOURNAMENTS BEFORE US, THIS ONE WILL FEATURE 5 BATTLES. IT WILL BE HELD IN 5 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. THE FIRST ROUND" At this Silas stiffened. The first round? So it wasn't going to be a battle royale? "THE FIRST ROUND WILL FEATURE THREE BATTLES. THE ONE THAT HOLDS THE MOST IMPRESSIVE WIN WILL AUTOMATICALLY BECOME PLACED IN THE FINALS" "woah...wait a sec..." Silas questioned. The voice temporarily stopped it's announcement. The other aces looked at him as he started his question "So whoever holds the flashiest win automatically gets placed second? No semi final battle?" "PRETTY MUCH YOUNG FIGHTER OF FRFH" At this, the crowd started to murmur. "IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, PLEASE WAIT UNTIL THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS OVER. AFTER THE FIRST ROUND, WE WILL FEATURE A SECOND ROUND. A FIGHT AMONGST THE TWO ACES WHO WON THE FIRST ROUND BUT HAVE NOT BEEN GIFTED THE POSITION OF THE FINALS" The crowd remained silent...anticipating for the moment that would come next. "WELL THEN, WE SHALL DRAW THE FIRST MATCH OF THE NAVARINA TOURNAMENT" Fanfare erupted once more. From the voice, a shuffling sound could be heard. Silas' heart sped up...who was it? Who was going up first? After a few moments, a whispering sound could be heard...as if the voice was not certain if the draw was a good idea. Clearing his throat, the voice boomed out "THE FIRST MATCH OF THE NAVARINA TOURNAMENT SHALL BE, A DUEL IN THE REGALIA AXIS' STADIUM, OTHERWISE RIGHT HERE. THE MATCH WILL BE BETWEEN THE ACE OF ALTAMIRE" A crowd of figures clad in white cloaks started cheering. "AND" Silas' breathing quickened. Beside him, Sauta whispered "You know...I feel sorry for whoever's up against those guys" "Why?" "The whole of Altamire are assassins" "THE ACE OF FRFH!" "...Fuck" Altamire vs FRFH A few seconds passed, at which point no sound was heard. Even the breathing from the voice had somehow stopped. But, the assassin soon started to chuckle, and after a while he burst into a hysterical laughing fit. The crowd soon joined in, and somewhere behind him Silas could have sworn he heard the voice of Mirone screaming "Silas you're so dead!" Spitting at the ground, he looked to where he believed he thought the voice came from and asked, "Don't the other Aces have somewhere else to go? I wanna get this over and done with" The crowd once again erupted into laughter, but was quickly ceased by the voice's sudden appearance "YOU MAKE A GOOD POINT SOLDIER OF FRFH. ACES OF REGALIA'S AXIS, EXIRE, REMULOUS AND KUSAMURA, YOU ARE REQUESTED TO LEAVE THIS ARENA AT ONCE. THE BATTLE WILL COMMENCE WHEN BOTH PARTIES ARE PREPARED" Stretching his legs, Silas called out "I'm ready anytime". Likewise, the assassin merely flicked his wrists, rolling his ankles and called out "I'm more than eager to teach this brat a lesson" The aces walked out and Silas observed them. A knight...a gladiator in blue...a swordsman in purple and an archer clad in brown, tight fitting cloth. Silas grinned as he turned around to face the assassin; what an interesting bunch of opponents. A fanfare came out of nowhere, signaling the beginning of the match. Jumping up and down, Silas noted that his opponent did not do anything other than observe his movements. Slowing down, Silas began to stretch his arms, daring to ask "What's wrong, not gonna attack me?" "...I see no reason why I should attack a rookie who is overconfident in their ability...seeing no fact that his opponent may be stronger" "Oh? So you'd rather I attack first?" From beneath his hood, Silas could see that the assassin was smiling. It was obvious that his style, unlike the other assassins, revolved around being attacked rather than attacking. Sighing, Silas thought to himself his options. Ok so obviously he isn't going to move until I attack him...but that's obviously a REALLY bad idea. So what do I do? Something that will provoke him but not actually attack him...a feint? No, too risky After a while, the assassin called out "What's wrong boy? Too scared to fight me?” Instead opting to yawn as a reply, Silas observed from under his eyelids that the Assassin was indeed irritated at this response. Taking a step forward, the Assassin flicked his wrist, in a way that a hidden blade suddenly protruded from his sleeve. Thanks to the sunlight, it was obvious that there was some sort of liquid coating the blade...dangerous; dangerous Silas thought to himself. Without warning, the assassin leapt forward, with almost inhuman flexibility, he ducked low and swiped at Silas' feet while still running. Leaping into the air, Silas landed some distance away, before retreating several steps back as the Assassin continued his assault. The Assassin continued attacking, mixing in several kicks together with his shivs. Stepping in, Silas grabbed one of his wrists, and then moved his body in, slamming his whole body against the assassin. Not even remotely affected by the attack, the Assassin simply stabbed at Silas with his other wrist. Jumping back, Silas tripped over a dent in the ground. The crowd soon started to chuckle as he got up. Spitting at the ground again, Silas stared venomously at the assassin. He dared laugh at him? A mere assassin...dared to laugh at HIM? Gritting is teeth, Silas growled "Buddy...you're going down..." However, once again, the assassin chuckled. "I don't know who you are but, seeing as how you're part of FRFH, you're probably REALLY weak" An Oooooohhhh came from the crowd. Silas' breath hitched. "Wow... I never would've thought that the discrimination against mages would exist even in a tournament... say...if I was to beat you, what do you think would happen?" "Well...I would probably bow down to you...IF you beat me hahahaha" "I see...then let’s make a deal shall we?" At this the assassin cocked his head. For a moment he stopped laughing and Silas could see that he was frowning. "What sort of deal?" "Well...if you win, you get..." At this the assassin barked out a laugh. "Ha! That's easy! If I win, I get your life buddy, these blades "The assassin raised the shivs at his wrists "these blades are poisoned matey" "Very well, if you win, I die. However, if I win, you and your whole district will bow down to the FRFH, deal?" The crowd stated laughing uproariously. Jeers were thrown at Silas however, the assassin remained completely still. After a while, he chuckled before replying "I like you kid. Killing you's gonna be a real loss to Pilse Navarina but...if you're going to make an argument as outrageous as that, I guess I have no choice but to put you down" Sticking out his tongue and flipping out his finger, Silas cackled "BRING IT!" Leaping forward, the assassin repeated his movements, leaning low and lashing at Silas' legs. However, this time, he did not retreat. Instead, Silas jumped high up and mustering as much strength as possible, stomped on the ground, barely missing the assassin's head. His legs wide open, the assassin twisted his body so that he was facing upwards, and threw his shiv at Silas' back. Leaning down, Silas touched the ground with his palms then closed his legs tight, trapping the assassin. Lifting his body up with his hands, he then did a quick flip, smacking his opponent's head onto the ground. Letting go and creating some distance between them, Silas took on a defensive stance and waited for the assassin to move. A full ten seconds passed...nothing. Was it truly that easy? The assassin eventually fell down from his upright position and landed in an unbalanced position. Stunned silence spread throughout the arena. Even Silas was shocked...Was it THAT easy? ---- A Mercenary in mysteries ---- From within the crowd, a man in a brown cloak chuckled. This kid...he was a delight. He was willing to sacrifice his life just to make sure that the people of FRFH gained proper respect...as a mercenary, he had heard many stories about the discrimination against mages but this was rather surprising...was the Great Citadel truly this weak? The fanfare came back once more. AND THAT IS THAT. MR. SILAS COCYTUS OF FRFH HAS COMPLETED HIS FIRST ROUND, AND THE JUDGES HAVE RULED IT AS AN IMPRESSIVE WIN, FIGHTING AN ARMED ASSASSIN AND BEATING HIM WITH TWO MOVES. WE GIVE HIM THE RIGHT TO PROCEED STRAIGHT TO THE FINALS. CONGRATULATIONS FRFH Directly to his left, cheering erupted. Seeing as how nobody else was celebrating, the man assumed that the crowd next to him was of the FRFH district...interesting. Watching Silas walk out of the arena, the man thought to himself one last thought before getting up to leave Silas Cocytus...I might pay him a visit '' A/N Well uhh yeah...first chapter of Set Out! yay... Umm well, I don't really know what else to say hahahaha...umm I guess overall the quality is decent at most, not exactly comparable to the other stories I've read on this wiki, although I reckon my fight scenes are alright? Well then, the man in "Mercenary in Mysteries", take a guess to who it might be. To tell the truth, I was planning on introducing him later on but then I realized that, I could take a whole new angle with the tournament and reveal his powers and...oops, nearly revealed who he was there. Well yeah anyways, next chapter will feature: *Remulous vs Kusamura *Regalia's Axis vs. Exire *Introduction of Florence and Serum *And one that I've been itching to do for AGES: D???? R????? vs. Silas. Well yeah, hoped you liked the chapter and next one will probably be linked to this page or something '''Chapter Two: ''The Godspells''' Category:NowiePark